Broken
by doyoumakepizza
Summary: They are not done with Ziva yet, but this time, they are targeting what is closest to her heart: her team. How will they stop whoever is doing this? Rated T for later chapters. Tiva, McAbby, Gabby friendship. Still working on formatting. Short chapters.
1. Chapter 1

The letter on Ziva's desk was just too tempting. Tony was early to work, so he siddled up to her desk and grabbed it. No return address... strange. He held his breath by habit, a habit formed ever since he had contracted the plague. He started reading.

'Dear Ziva,

You already know you deserve to die. But I think you deserve far worse. You have suffered through torture with no effect. Countless of your loved ones have been killed, you have even killed some of them. You haved been kidnapped, stabbed, shot, tortured and-' Tony winced- '- raped. But what if we stopped trying to hurt you directly and turned to your team? You get to watch helplessly as I cause your team so much anguish in trying to find what has been taken. I have already started, Ziva. As you are reading this, you will find that Ms. Scuito has vanished. And this is all because of you.'

Tony stopped breathing, and bolted to the elevator.


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator doors opened, and Tony rushed in, running straight into Gibbs and knocking his coffee back onto his clean shirt, staining it with a brown splotch. "DiNozzo, what the he-" "Abby. Gone. Letter to Ziva. Lab. Going. Now!" Tony gasped out, starting to bolt for the elevator again. Gibbs dropped the rest of the coffee, but was gone before the liquid could hit his shoes. "Stairs, DiNozzo!" "On it, Boss!" Tony yelled back, bolting after him.

Tony was speechless. Abby's lab was wrecked, but she wasn't in it. There were vials broken everywhere, and different chemicals covered the floor. It probably wasn't safe for them to be running through the destroyed lab, but the two agents barely noticed the wreckage. All they noticed were the pool of blood on the floor, and the writing on the wall. The letters painted there spelled out, 'Who is next, Ziva?". They were writted in blood.

The two men were still taking in the message a minute later when Ziva came crashing in. She took in the gorey mural and sank to her knees. "No, no, please, no..." Her voice terrified Tony more than any murder ever could. In her voice, he heard a woman who was going through the agony of one whose own family had gone missing. He heard sadness and pain beyong anything he had ever felt before. In her voice, he heard a woman who had been through everything finally crumbling down in front of him. And as he watched, a tear rolled down her cheek, and he felt his own heart tear in two. His ninja had broken.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ziva. Explain. NOW," Gibbs said as he grabbed the letter out of her hand and studied iit carefully. "Who? Why? How?" "Gibbs... I do not know! If I knew, I would have gotten rid of him months ago!" Ziva said loudly. "HOW LONG? You have been receiving these letters for months and you haven't told any of us?" Gibbs said furiously. "Ziva, how could you?" Tony asked more gently. Ziva broke into sobs, and Tony felt like he wanted to do the same. Gibbs pulled her into his arms. "Ziva, why didn't you tell us?" he asked softly. "Be-because I thought I could handle it, Gibbs, I did!" she choked out. "And now look what has happened! This is all my fault, I should have found him and taken care of him before anything like this ever occurred!" "Ziver, you can't handle everything. You may be our residential ninja, but you aren't superwoman. You should have come for help." Tony said. Ziva gulped. "You are right, Tony... but I am the cause of this mess, so I must finish it." "Atta girl, Zee. Now, Tony, get Ducky and Palmer. Ziva, go see if McGee is here, which he should be, and debrief him. I am going to talk to Vance," Gibbs said. There was a pause. "Well? NOW!" He strode to the stairs, and Tony and Ziva ran to follow him.

The team decided not to get one of Abby's infamous assistants to run her lab, but opted to ave McGee and Palmer run it instead. Palmer knew how to work a surprising number of machines, while McGee took care of anything on the computer. The blood proved to be Abby's. They all knnew it, but Gibbs still felt his gut clench when hhe read the report. The whole team was distraught about Abby's disappearance, but it just motivated them to work harder than they ever had before. Vance knew better than to even think to assign Abby's case to anyone else, so the team worked through the night and into early morning without even stopping to eat before they found anything. 'Bing!' Tony's computer binged happily, signaling that there was a match on the partial fingerprint they has found. Tony read the report, then looked at Ziva, who was filing some useless cases. "Ziva?" he said. "Yes?" she replied. "Do you know an 'Amir Rivkin'?" The files in Ziva's hands dropped to the floor. "Yes," she whispered. "Who is he?" Tony asked quickly. "Tony... he was one of Saleem's highest ranking men." she said sadly. "Ziva, it says here that Amir is Michael's brother." Ziva went pale and sank to the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs walked in an hour later to find Ziva asleep with Tony's arms around her and his head resting on hers. Gibbs woke Tony up with a gentle headslap. "DiNozzo, take her home with you so you can get some rest." "Her.. home with me?.." Tony said groggily. "Yes, DiNozzo, do you think I would let her be alone?" Gibbs fired back. "Right... on it, Boss." "G'night, DiNozzo." "Goodnight, Boss." Gibbs turned and walked back to the elevator. "C'mon, Zi, let's go to my house and get some shut-eye," Tony said softly. "My house is preferable," said Ziva tiredly. "Boss' orders," Tony replied. Ziva mumbled something in Hebrew, then got up, stretched, and put on her coat. "Can I do something, Tony?" Ziva asked. "Sure..." Tony said uncertainly. "Anything?" Ziva urged. "Yeah, sure, of course," Tony said. "What are you doing?" "Driving." Ziva grabbed the car keys from his hand and bounced to the elevator. Tony groaned, but got his coat and followed her.

5:00 am: "Tony." Silence. "Tony!" More silence. "TONY!" "Ah, Ziva, what!" "I am taking a jog to my house and thought I'd let you know!" she replied, annoyed. "Zi, it's five in the morning... we have been home for three hours now!" Tony yawned and rolled over to find the Israeli standing over him, fully dressed. "Uhg.. I can't let you go alone, Gibbs would kill me. Gimme five minutes to get dressed? I will come along." Ziva sighed, but didn't protest.

One hour, three miles, and a hundred complaints later, a ticked-off Ziva and a sweat-drenched Tony finally reached her apartment building. Tony begged that they take the elevator. "Tony, what part of physical exercise is so hard for you?" Ziva asked, exasperated. "The exercise part," Tony replied in his usual smart-aleck fashion. "Physical, I'm real good at." They continued to bicker up the stairs to the top floor, where Ziva's apartment was. They were so engrossed in their arguing, they didn't notice that Ziva's door was wide open until they were standing in front of it. Tony cursed, then said "C'mon, Zi, we're going back down to the service desk where we can call the police. I don't have my cell." "No, I am going in. I do not think there is anyone in there anymore. It is my home, besides!" Ziva countered. "No, Zi, I don't even have my gun-" "I do." "Ziva, no. Gibbs would skin me alive if he found out I let you go in there," Tony said calmly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the elevator. He looked at the button pad and pushed "G" for ground floor, and the doors shut. "We will call from the front desk. Gibbs is already going to kill me for forgetting my cell phone-" Here, Tony looked up and realized that he was alone. Ziva had slipped out of the elevator as the doors were closing. Tony frantically looked for an emergency stop button, but there was a sign that said "Out of Order" taped to it, so he had to ride all the way to the ground floor and then come back up.


	5. Chapter 5

Tony willingly took the stairs, two and three steps at one time. He finally reached her apartment and didn't hesitate before rushing in. "ZIVA!" 'Oh, god, please let her be here!' he thought. He let out a breath when, upon running into the living room, he saw her sitting on the floor. "Ziva, don't you ever do that to me again! What the he-" He noticed that she had not even acknowledged him in the room, so he followed her gaze to the wall in front of her, and saw something he had never wanted to see again. Another bloody mural. This one was just two words: Timothy McGee.

Tony didn't know what to do. So many thoughts raced through his mind. Should he take care of Ziva? Call McGee? Call Gibbs? Look around? Call the police? He forced his mind to calm down. Ziva. Her first. He helped her to the couch, and covered her with a blanket, then found her phone. Okay, now call McGee? Gibbs? The police? "Wait, damn, I am the police.." he muttered, then punched in McGee's number. "Ring...ring...ring...ring... hello, you have reached Timothy McGee-" Tony hit 'end' and dialed Gibbs' number. "Gibbs, yeah?" Gibbs said. "Oh, God, Gibbs, Tim's in trouble, so is Ziva, but Tim really, it's kinda a long story, but-" "Where, Tony?" "Ziva's apartment." The line went dead, and Tony didn't even stop to wonder how Gibbs knew his way to Ziva's.

It took Gibbs just over four minutes to drive six miles. He was up eight flights of stairs in less then two minutes. It took him just 30 seconds to walk into Ziva's apartment, assess the situation, and say, "You two, with me now. We're going to McGee's." Ziva hadn't even looked up when he walked in. She hadn't even moved from the couch where Tony put her ten minutes ago. Gibbs kneeled down in front of her. "Zi, it's okay. We are going to find whoever did this before anything bad happens, okay?" She nodded, and got up from the couch. The trio made their way back down the steps and into Gibbs' car. They were soon on the road to McGee's house, just five miles from Ziva's apartment. Gibbs drove at around 80 mph, so they were there in no time. Guns drawn, they hopped out of the car and crept around Tim's house, checking for anything unusual. Gibbs and Tony met up in the back, whil Ziva guarded the front. "Boss, we know who it is." Tony said uncertainly. "Yup." Gibbs replied calmly. "Okay, then Boss, glad we cleared that up." They walked back around to the front, and walked into the house through the unlocked front door.

It was cleaner than Abby's lab or Ziva's apartment. There were no signs of a struggle, and no bloody paintings, but there was certainly no Tim, and he wasn't at work either, according to Gibbs. The team poked around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary. After a while, Tony got restless and started climbing on furniture to "get a better view of things". That's when he noticed the air vent was askew. He opened it further to find- of all things- a video camera positioned to look out on the room. "Boss! McGee was prepared for an attack. Look- a video camera caught anything that happened in this room last night!" Gibbs just smiled and signaled for the team to get back in the car to head to NCIS.


	6. Chapter 6

Back at NCIS, the team quickly ran down to Abby's lab to watch the contents of the video. It started around midnight, because McGee went home earlier than Tony and Ziva. The first hour and a half was nothing but McGee sitting on his couch, watching television. He was obviously determined not to move from the living room and out from under the camera's watchful eye. Then, at about two hours in, or 2 am, McGee's head snapped up to listen to a sound unheard by the camera. He still didn't move, but he was noticeably tense. A dark shadow of a man moved into the room, and clubbed McGee on the head from behind. The man was so quiet, McGee didn't seem to notice him until the wrench hit him. McGee looked dead at the camera before losing consciousness. The man then poked around the room as a pool of blood formed around McGee's head. After another ten minutes, the man grabbed McGee's feet and dragged him out of the room, then came back in and meticulously cleaned all the blood from the floor, leaving the crime scene looking just like a normal home. After that, the team fast-forwarded through four hours of McGee's living room, until Tony, Ziva, and Gibbs burst in, and Tony grabbed the camera. Then the video went black. The team continued to stare at the screen. Tony looked over the two remaining family members he had here, and saw that Ziva's face was shining with the tears she had tried so hard to hide, and Gibbs seemed to be lost in thought. "Play it again." came the order from the troubled boss. Tony did. "Fast forward... stop.. play it in slow motion. Zoom in...to his hand." A pause. "There, look!" As McGee was being dragged out of the room, his hand clearly opened and closed. Ziva burst into tears. "That means he's alive, Boss!" Tony said happily. Gibbs gave him a headslap. "Ya think, DiNozzo?" A small pause. "DiNozzo, I'm waiting." "Sorry, Boss. Uh..." Tony desperately tried to figure out what Gibbs wanted. Another headslap. "What happened, Tony? From the beginning." "Yes, Boss, well, okay, we got a hit from the partial fingerprint found here." "Yeah, I know." "And it belongs to Amir Rivkin-" Tony was cut off by Ziva, who jumped in with, "Amir was one of Saleem's closest friends. He was a regular in Somalia... Tony was reading about Amir when he found out that...Amir..." She faltered. "Was Michael's brother. Yeah, I know." Gibbs put in. "Anything else?" "Well, we have been through Abby's phone, credit cards, the works. Nothing unusual. Her house was checked by another team in the area, as a favor, nothing there. We didn't really expect anything, as she had stayed here the night before. Her phone was still here. We will go through Probi- I mean- McGee's phone and credit card, but we found his phone at his house, so we can't track either of them. We called the service desk at Ziva's apartment, and explained the situation. They're going to take care of it, and keep it pretty low-key and quiet. That's it, Boss." Gibbs turned and walked to the stairs. Tony hesitated, causing Gibbs to turn and say, "Well? Need an invitation?" "No, of course not, Boss, on your six." Both Ziva and Tony hurried to keep up with Gibbs.

One hour, and seven dead leads later, Tony wanted to throw his computer across the room in anger. There was nothing on Amir Rivkin. He seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth three years ago, which was obviously not so. No address, no phone, no credit card registered to Amir, so Tony had started to try other names. Michael Rivkin. Saleem Ulman. Heck, he had even tried combining names together. Amir Ulman. Saleem Rivkin. Micahel Ulman. No luck. Out of frstration, he tried desperately to think of any other names he might be going as. Nothing. His mind was blank, and this was killing him. He finally went over to Ziva's desk. "You got anything, Zi?" "Tony, if I had anything, Amir Rivkin would be dead by now. I feel so horrible... this is all my fault." "Ziva, this isn't your fault. If anything, it is your father's fault! Wait... your father! That might be the name Amir is going by!" Tony ran back to his desk. "He would not go directly by Eli David. He would combime names... that is how he is. He thinks himself to be very clever." Ziva said. "Okay, then which name should I run first? Amir..David? Saleem David? Michael David? Eli Ulman? Eli Rivkin?" Tony asked. "Wait... I do not think he is dumb enough to use Rivkin... or Saleem. Try Eli Ulman." Ziva said. Tony eagerly typed it in. A hit! "Ziva, I got an address!" "Grab your gear, we're going," Gibbs said, walking in. The two agents quickly got their things and caught up with their boss on the elevator. "This better be good, Tony. If it isn't, you are going to be paying Abby in Caf-Pow! from the time we find her until you die." Gibbs said with a smirk. The elevator doors closed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi everyone! I understand that there have been some issues with my formatting, which is understandable. I am using an e-reader, so what looks okay to me looks a bit squirrelly to those using a different monitor. I'm going to try to format this chapter better, and also, make it a bit longer than my other ones. Fingers crossed! Thanks for the reviews. **

The team missed Abby and McGee.

They did a good job hiding it at first, but the strain of the past days had gotten to them, and it was starting to show on everyone. Director Vance left the team alone, without his usual input and suggestions. Palmer had stopped being so awkward and was just... well, quiet. There were no more stories from Ducky. He had taken a sudden dislike to his work, because he could not keep himself from thinking, "What if the next one is Abigail? What if it is Timothy?". The probies avoided the team in general, dashing into the bullpen as quickly as possible to deliver mail, then speed-walking back out to avoid the wrath of the ninja, or worse, Gibbs. NCIS was deathly quiet. Not once in two days had the emergency stop been activated in the elevator. Even amongst the team, they kept to themselves. No time for headslaps, or movie references, or mangled American idioms. Tony didn't want to snoop, Ziva didn't want to poke fun at him, and Gibbs didn't want coffee anymore.

...

Tony noticed. He noticed that Ziva hadn't tried any idioms. He noticed that there were no stories from Ducky, no interruptions from Vance, and even the Autopsy Gremlin had stayed away. But what scared him almost as much as Ziva breaking down in the lab was Gibbs. The former Marine looked tired. He moved slower than usual, and hadn't touched coffee in almost 24 hours. The bullpen had seemed empty without McGee, but even emptier without Gibbs' sarcasm. Ziva, on the other hand, seemed as if she had just given up. She had stayed in the bullpen since her house had been broken into earlier, and had almost stopped speaking completely. Tony left jokes wide open for her, but she didn't take them. She was a zombie at her computer, typing and occasionally cursing in Hebrew when she reached a dead end. The team was falling apart, and as Tony watched, there was nothing he could do. One man, even as powerful as Anthony DiNozzo, couldn't pick up all the pieces his team had shattered into, as much as he tried. Until they got Abbs and Probie back, there were two obvious holes in not only the bullpen, but in NCIS, and in Tony's heart. He had been so busy holding the team together while trying to find his friends, he hadn't even had time to think about a drink. Usually, it was the first thing he did when something went wrong. He had fallen right into the alcohol's grasp when Ziva was assumed dead, but this was different. Someone was going to pay for this, and Tony was determined to find them.

...

Tony was only partly correct. Ziva had given up, but not on finding Abby and McGee. On herself. She didn't know how she could go on at NCIS after this, knowing that the kidnapping was just the latest of all the troubles she had caused them. To Ziva, all she saw was herself, putting the team through Hell yet again. How would Abby or McGee be able to tolerate her? If they didn't already know it was her fault, how could she tell them? The team was ruined- because of her. And if McGee or Abby didn't make it back to NCIS? Ziva had decided that if that was the case, she wouldn't come back either. Vance would probably throw her out, and if he didn't, she couldn't face Tony. Or Gibbs. Or even Ducky and Palmer. As much as she hated it, she would return to Israel. To Mossad. To Eli. She knew that she deserved every bit of what it would get her. And if she were lucky, Eli would send her on another death mission. This time, though, she wouldn't fight back, and the world would be rid of her. But no- she had to focus on finding her friends. It was all her fault anyways. Wasn't it?

...

Gibbs was a mess. The night Ziva had stayed with Tony, he had gotten home around 4 am. He went straight down to the basement while trying not to let his tears escape. He grabbed a beer and walked around the boat he had worked on for so long. As he admired the curve and softness of the wood, he found himself thinking, "I can have this finished in a month. Maybe two." He sat in front of it on his favorite stool. A month... a lot can happen in a month. We could have Abby and McGee back where they belong, and Ziva safe from these men for good. Or... we could be attending the funerals of the two missing persons. He imagined Abby in a coffin, but not just sleeping. Dead. It hit him suddenly that his little girl Abby could be dead. Another would have to take her place in the lab. No more Abby...No. More. Abby. He snapped. He grabbed a hammer and attacked the one thing that kept him sane when his team couldn't. With each stroke of the hammer, he only thought, "Shannon. Kelly. Jenny. McGee...Abby." Those names kept him tearing at the boat until the hammer came apart and went flying across the room. He then tore at it with his hands, breaking off chunks of wood. After almost an hour, he stopped and looked around the basement. His frustration and anger lay amongst bits and splinters of the _Kelly_. He didn't feel any better though. It was then then that Leroy Jethro Gibbs dropped to his knees amidst the pieces of his prized possession, put his head in his bloodied hands, and let the tears come.

**Follow-up note: Yes! Broke 1000 words. I'm stalling the story a bit, sorry.. still trying to finish the main plot in my head before I add too much more. Please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everyone! I just wanted to say thanks to all the reviews! They help a lot. Sorry if the time frames of things seem a little hinky… This takes place (so far) over two days, from morning of Day 1, until now, sometime in late afternoon. I do not always have the previous chapters to look back at due to this story being done on three different computers so far… So I apologize for that. **

….

"Grab your gear!" Ziva almost burst into tears. Again. It was a mixture of relief that Tony had found an address, and anxiety of what they would find there that almost pushed her into breaking down for the third time in two days. But her instincts soon kicked in and banished her feelings to wherever it is that she kept them. Ziva grabbed her backpack and did a quick mental check of her things. Camera… in the backpack. Gun… in its holster. Knives… one in her waistband, and one she had hidden in her left boot. She continued on in this manner until she was confident that she was prepared, and then ran after Tony and Gibbs. She walked into the elevator, and Gibbs pressed the button. The doors slid shut, dooming the team to whatever waited at the home of Amir Rivkin.

….

There wasn't a word spoken in the elevator or the car. When they arrived at a normal-looking house in a secluded area, Ziva and Gibbs went around to check the back while Tony pounded on the door. Gibbs then went back to the front as Tony kicked the door in. A moment later, all agents were inside. "Clear!" "Clear!" "Clear!" Ziva joined them as they descended into the eerie silence of the dark basement. First two rooms: "Clear!" Ziva opened the last door. "Gibbs!" The other two agents raced to her side by the door. They stared through the dark, and were horrified at what they saw. Chained to the back wall, Special Agent Timothy McGee raised his head. A tear rolled down his cheek, from pain or relief no one knew. He gathered his energy and formed a single word, which escaped from his lips as though it was torture. "Abby…"

The team looked to the back corner of the room that McGee was staring at. Abby was lying in a crumpled heap in a pool of her own blood. She wasn't moving.

….

Gibbs snapped into action. "Tony- get Tim. Ziva-""Calling 911. And Ducky," she finished. Gibbs himself rushed over to Abby. She looked worse up close. Almost every inch of her skin was covered in cuts and bruises, tinting her normally pale skin a sickening red-brown color. Gibbs sucked in a breath when he realized that all she had to cover herself was a thin, ratty blanket- nothing underneath. He checked her pulse. It was faint, but present. She was breathing, but unsurprisingly unconscious. Gibbs only tore his gaze away from her when he heard Tim wheeze. He wasn't as bad off as Abby. He had one deep gash above his eye, but he was fully clothed. Ziva had already called two ambulances, along with Ducky and Palmer. Gibbs was still kneeling next to Abby when Tim passed out. Tony checked his pulse, and breathing. Normal. "Exhaustion, Boss…" Tony looked up at Gibbs as he turned away from Abby. He was holding her hand. Tony thought he saw a glint on his cheek. "Gibbs, crying?" he thought, "Nah." But it was true, even if Tony didn't believe it. Gibbs was crying in relief of finding his daughter.

….

For once, Palmer did not get lost, meaning that the NCIS van pulled up before the ambulances. Ducky came down the stairs and into the room to look over the two victims. Tim was fine- a bit bruised, and exhausted from lack of sleep. Abby was a different story. The others politely averted their eyes as Ducky removed the sad excuse of a blanket from her battered body. Abby had bruises everywhere. Cuts and scratches crisscrossed over her skin. Her tattoos were barely visible. Some of her cuts were deep enough to require stitches, while others were minor abrasions. Ducky was surprised that she was still alive, but he didn't say that. Instead, he continued to search for anything immediately life-threatening. His heart broke when he saw the unique bruising pattern on her inner thighs. "Jethro…" he started, searching desperately for the right words. "I know, Duck. I know," Gibbs said sadly. Apparently Ziva knew too. Tony put things together quickly. "…one of Saleem's closest friends…" her words echoed back to him. Tony saw how badly she was shaking, and went to put an arm around her. The whole room knew immediately when Ziva flinched and cried out. Amir Rivkin had raped Abby- and Ziva too.

….

The ambulances took Tim and Abby to the hospital alone, despite an enraged Gibbs' attempts to ride with one of them. The EMT was adamant that the victims had to go alone, and even though Gibbs knew he was just doing his job, he was furious. He watched the flashing lights disappear down the street, and heard the commotion of other teams arriving to 'bag-n-tag'. When he finally turned around, the first thing he saw amidst the swarm of agents and officers was Tony holding Ziva as tear after tear rolled down her cheeks. Gibbs knew that she thought this was all her fault. It killed him to know that this man, Amir Rivkin, had hurt her in the past, and she had never quite recovered. It killed him to know that his surrogate 'daughter' was currently speeding to the hospital in the back of an ambulance, holding on to life by a thread because of the same man. Amir Rivkin was going to pay.

….

He was watching. From the forest that surrounded his home, he could see the madness as the two victims were carried out on stretchers, loaded onto ambulances, and driven off to the hospital. HIS victims. This wasn't supposed to happen; they weren't supposed to figure out his alias. But it was okay. He was going to get back at her anyways, the Jew-bitch, the reason his best friend had been killed. She was going to suffer anyways. Yes, he could see it now. A new plan was forming in his mind. Get her. The man holding her now would come to save her. Torture her in front of him- make her show her weak side. Break her all over again. She hated to show that side of her. Nobody but him and Saleem had ever seen it. Kill him, then her. The man who had killed Saleem would suffer greatly also. Perfect. The whole team. The whole reason his best friend was six feet under. He smiled. This was going to be good.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone! I have so many excuses as to why I haven't updated... but mainly it is that I hate this chapter. I have rewritten it at least four times in full, and there are so many fragments of this chapter in my notebook as well. I cannot write for McGee or Abby! Pbbthhh... This is going to be a patchwork of the best fragments, and improv all the way! (New excuse: internet crashed! And there may have been a beach trip... but it was the internet!)**

** ~ Allie**

**...**

As soon as Gibbs snapped out of his stupor, he took immediate control. He was torn for a brief moment- 'bag-n-tag' or hospital? The answer made itself clear in his mind, and he directed Tony and Ziva into the car. Silence. Into the hospital. Silence. Waiting room. Silence. But each agent was experiencing something different than the others. Ziva's silence wasn't just silence. Her Mossad assassin instincts had kicked in and she was planning furiously. What if they survive? How would she work with them? What would they think? Would they blame her? And the questions she didn't want to plan for kept making their presence known in her head- What if they both don't pull through? Abby without McGee, or McGee without Abby? What If NCIS lost them both? Ziva didn't like silence of her mind- it was a waste, and always occupied itself with things she didn't want to remember. But now, she would have given anything to be able to make it go blank, like Tony could. But she couldn't. Her silence was a busy silence; a troubled silence.

...

Tony's mind was stuck on one thing, and one thing only: Amir. How to catch him, how to get his revenge, how to protect Ziva from him. He hated the man, more than he hated Saleem Ulman. He had overheard Ziva and Gibbs before, but now he finally understood that when Ziva referred to Saleem's "friend", it was Amir. According to her, Amir was the one that did all the dirty work. The tortures, rapes, anything. Saleem may have commanded him, but it was Amir that hurt her. Tony's angry silence filled the room and stood out among the others.

Gibbs was anxious and nervous, but he appeared calm and indignant, as always. He just kept telling himself to treat it like any other case.

...

People in the waiting room came and went, along with the time. Thirty minutes. The husband and wife supporting their daughter through her knee surgery. An hour. The little old man hoping that chemo worked on his wife. Ninety minutes. The little boy waiting for his sister. Then- there was Tim. Conscious. Alert. All three agents let out a breath they didn't know they were holding. Gibbs stood up and followed the gurney down the hall with Tony following along like a puppy. Only Ziva paused. The hour and a half of planning she had done dissolved and floated away, leaving her feeling vunerable and insecure. "It's okay, Zi. You don't have to." Gibbs' words carried down the hall. She sighed and started walking.

...

Tim's room was clean, crisp, and happy- everything one would expect a hospital room to be. It came across as oddly cheerful, and somehow welcoming. Ziva hated it. She had been trying not to panic, and this room sure wasn't helping. The white walls and medicine smell seemed to taunt her as she sat down in one of the chairs. Nobody noticed. After ten minutes of useless small talk by McGee, and a dozen movie references by Tony, Gibbs had to remind them that they were to collect a witness statement from Tim. "It doesn't have to be now, Tim, but we have to do it sometime," he said gently. "Right, Boss. Erm..." he seemed to lose focus for a minute. "Oh, uh, did you get the camera?" Gibbs pointed to Tony, who flashed a cheesy smile. "Right, well, uh, I suspected he would go after me- I mean, he had the most reason to save you three for last... So I set that camera up-" "Why didn't you tell us, McGee?" Gibbs asked. "Because... I wanted to know about Abby. I felt that if I couldn't save her, I should at least know what she was going through?" "Ah, Boss, chivalry," Tony said. Headslap. "Well, the camera was so that you guys could at least know who it was, which you do. I signaled so you'd know I was alive.. just etiquette, I guess? But I...uh, passed out for a while. I woke up, chained to the wall... Tony?" "Well, that just reminds me of this movie where-" Another headslap. "Sorry, Boss," Tony said sheepishly. "Anyways, I woke up, chained to that wall. Amir asked questions- all about Ziva. Favorite places, what she liked to do, that sort of stuff. I didn't answer, so he took his knife and cut me above the eye.. I blacked out again. I woke up the second time in the same place, but he had pulled out a table, and strapped Abby to it. She looked pretty bad... but he asked me the same questions again, and I still wouldn't answer him. He took the knife and made cuts on her arms and legs, then her face. She kept yelling, 'Don't! Don't answer, McGee!', and it was the hardest thing in the world for me to tell him, 'I won't tell you.'. But I did, and I guess we both pissed him off enough that he took his knife and cut her shirt off. Then her skirt. When she was only in her underwear, he got this look- I can't quite describe it-" Ziva surprised everyone by answering. "Hungry. Delighted. Eager. He has been taken over- words will not stop him." She stood up and pushed her way out of the room. Her steps could be heard echoing down the hall. Tony moved to go after her, but was blocked by Gibbs. "Continue, McGee." "I knew what he wanted to do, it was so obvious, so I started screaming names of stores and restaurants, phone number, addresses, anything. None of it mattered, but he didn't hear it. I screamed 'Amir!' once, and he turned and looked at me. He said, 'It's too late.', then dug the knife into her leg and took off her underwear..." McGee faltered. "The whole time he was doing it, she was screaming.. first, just screams, then my name. She was begging me to help her and there was nothing I could do!" he whispered, then started crying. The fat tears rolling down his cheeks made Gibbs stop his questions. "McGee, take a rest. It's going to be okay, I promise," Gibbs said. "She'll hate me." McGee replied. "No, she won't," Tony said, following Gibbs out the door.

...

**Review please! It helps a lot!**


	10. Chapter 10

** I'm back! I am not even going to bother with excuses- wait, yes, I am. I was trying to write in early April, in a room I don't use much. I encountered a case of writer's block so frustrating that I left my notebook in that room and promptly forgot about it. I found it, and plan to continue this story- however, I don't know if I will start another. Thanks for reading, waiting, and writing, everyone! **

** -Allie**

** P.S. I am going to have to re-learn how I formatted this, so bear with me for the next few updates!**

…**...**

Ziva started walking back to NCIS. It was only a few blocks from the hospital, so she was sitting in her car before the situation really registered. She was alone. She was being stalked and hunted by a psychopath. The psychopath had the same deadly ability she did, but he lacked the morals she had. For once in her life, Ziva was scared- for herself. Her first thought was to go back to the hospital- but after she had revealed so much? She had never meant to say anything that would let anyone other than Gibbs know... especially not Tony. He was going to know just how damaged she was now. She started her car and drove to the only place she knew to go- Gibbs' house.

…...

Ziva had been gone from the hospital nearly half an hour, and Tony was frantic. He had tried every phone number he could think of, to no avail. Gibbs, on the other hand, knew that if Ziva wanted to be contacted, she could, and very easily. "Tony. She just needs time to think, okay? In two days, her whole life has been controlled by a total maniac. In just a few hours, you have found out more about her than she ever wanted anyone to know. She knows how to stay safe. We will find her after we talk to Abby." Tony stared hard at the phone for a minute, then reluctantly followed Gibbs back to the waiting room. They sat there for only a few minutes before Abby was wheeled past. She was awake, but seemed groggy and disoriented. Gibbs and Tony followed the bed down the hall, but before they could enter, a nurse stopped them. "I don't think that you should go in right now," she said. Gibbs stared at her. "She's not herself yet, she's going to be very, very confused. I don't think she will recognize anyone until she comes out of it a little more, but at least for now, she seems to be terrified of men. We had to get a female surgeon to fix her up because she panicked when she saw the male surgeon." "How long?" asked Gibbs. "About an hour- but she'll still be tired. I recommend that you come back tomorrow. She'll be fine overnight." Gibbs peered in the room, then nodded solemnly. He turned to Tony and said "Now Ziva." They headed to the car.

…...

Ziva had sat in Gibbs' driveway for what seemed like days. She just couldn't bring herself to step out of her car and walk into his house, which she assumed was unlocked as always. What if he knew? What if all those months she had gotten letters, he spent looking into the team? He could be here now... just waiting for her, or for Gibbs... She put the car in reverse, and drove off again.

…...

Tony and Gibbs spent a good hour driving- to any place they thought she might be. All the team members' homes. Restaurants. Parks. Nothing. They finally drove back to NCIS, defeated. Tony left one more voicemail on her cell, hoping that she would listen to it and come back. "Hey, Zi, you know who it is. We can't find you anywhere, and yes, we are getting worried. I know that there's more of a chance that you are hiding than have been kidnapped, but that chance is what scares me. We need you back here- to know you're safe, and to help with Abby. She's terrified of men- understandably- but I think that you could talk to her and help us get the guy who did this... please at least call to let us know you're fine? If you don't call back soon, Gibbs will start the BOLOs. Please help us- you might be our only hope." He hung up the phone and started chuckling. Gibbs stared at him. "Star Wars, Boss..." he said, then turned to his computer.

…...

That night, Gibbs made Tony leave. "You have been at this since 5 a.m., Dinozzo. It's 11. Get some sleep. Be here bright and early to talk to Abby, though." "Yes, Boss.." Tony said dejectedly. He gathered his things and made his way out to his car. He had no intentions of driving home, however. He drove to somewhere he hadn't been in a very long time- he went to Kate. Being as dark as it tends to be at 11 p.m., he never noticed the red Mini Cooper creeping along behind him.

Getting out of the car at the graveyard, he walked over to the grave of one of his closest friends. He sat there, not sure of what to do. "Kate, gosh, I feel so silly talking to you, but I don't know where else to go. The team is barely still together right now... two of us are in the hospital, one is missing, and Gibbs is... well, not Gibbs. I am... actually scared for Ziva. We don't know where she is, but Boss doesn't think she's been taken... I don't know what to think. I miss the way the team was already, and it has only been two days. This guy, he knew that by getting in the middle of us and tearing us apart, that he could get anything he wanted. I don't know what to do, Kate, I don't know what to do." "You do not have to, Tony," said Ziva, stepping out from behind a tree. "Ziva, my God, what are you doing here?" Tony yelped. "I followed you here," she shrugged. "Tony, today I revealed some things that I had buried for two years now," she said, "and some things that only Gibbs knew because I had to tell him. I did not want you to look at me the way all the doctors and the ones at NCIS who knew did- they looked at me like I was too broken to be fixed. I never wanted you to know what happened in Somalia, but I realize now how selfish that was. A team cannot function with secrets- that is what got us into this mess anyways- my secrets- and Tony, I am sorry." "No, Ziva, no... " Tony said, wrapping his arms around her. It is amazing, that with all the words in the world to express anything we wish, that sometimes, we are left with nothing to say. But Tony's hug was all Ziva needed to know that nothing had changed between them.

…...

**Please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, everyone, my summer writing schedule is slowly emerging- my mother has a computer. My father does not- I am at my mother's pretty much every other week, so that's when I'll be able to type and upload. During the school year, that'll definitely change. So, this week I'll be updating as frequently as possible. Thanks for reading & reviewing!**

**-Allie**

…**.**

The first thing Gibbs did when Tony walked in with Ziva the next morning was give Tony an "I told you so" smirk. Then he hugged Ziva. "You can't run off like that again, okay?" he said. "Yes, sir. I am-" she started, but caught herself. "Rule six," Gibbs said as he walked back toward the elevator. "Come on, you two- we're going to see Abby." Tony and Ziva exchanged an anxious glance before speed walking to catch up to the senior agent. Almost as soon as the doors slid shut, Gibbs stopped the elevator. The two other agents looked startled. "Thought I'd go ahead and let you know. McGee is going to be fine- he's being released later today. Abby-" he paused, "is physically going to be okay." Ziva let out a breath. Gibbs continued. "It's mentally that we're worried about. She hasn't slept. She hasn't spoken. She hasn't eaten or had anything to drink- the IV is the only thing going into her right now. They've also had to do some reassigning- to only female staff caring for her." "I'm sure she'll be fine with us, won't she?" Tony asked nervously. "DiNozzo, McGee tried to visit her this morning," Gibbs said. "Oh, no…" "It didn't go to well. Ziva is going to be our best chance here," Gibbs said, then addressed Ziva. "Are you up for this?" "Yes, of course," she said, with no hesitation, "Anything for Abby." "Good," Gibbs replied, then started the elevator downward again. A moment went by, then he stopped it again. "Oh," he said, turning. "This isn't any of our faults." But as he started the elevator yet again, he felt as though he was only comforting himself.

…

Ziva, in all reality, was the farther from ready than she cared to admit. She didn't have anything- her planning mindset had left her in all the confusion. Abby had rejected McGee, of all people. Why would she want to see the woman who had practically caused her to be taken? She was in the hospital before she knew it, and walking down the hall to Abby's room. Her heart broke as soon as she walked in and saw her friend- curled up in the fetal position facing away from the busy hall. She had torn out her IV, and her body was covered in bruises, cuts, and burns. She reminded Ziva of… herself. She quickly sat down. The chair moved ever so slightly, but Abby jumped like it was a gunshot. She felt as though she were looking at herself, during the first weeks of her torture. "Abby." Her mind raced about what to say next… what did she want to hear when this was her? She came up with nothing, and fell silent again. Minutes passed. There came a knock on the door- Gibbs. She walked out. "How's it going?" Ziva just shook her head. "Gibbs, after something as… horrible as this, one tends to form a… bubble. You can't get through to them until after their bubble has been… popped. How did you get through to me?" "Ziva, you are different. You had been trained for torture, and you had given up all hope of ever getting out. You had come to terms with your fate, you popped your own bubble. But we have to figure out how to get through to Abs. Keep trying, you're doing fine," Gibbs replied. Ziva nodded, and then walked back into Abby's room and sat down. "Amir told me they were all dead. Tony, Gibbs, McGee, even you, Abby. He named everyone close to me and told me that he had killed them. I believed him." She stood up and walked around the bed so that she could see Abby's face. Abby's eyes had lost their eagerness, which scared Ziva, but she kept talking. "I held out for a month, I never said anything. I had all my escape plans ready. I had never met Amir. The very day they decided what I was to be used for, he came in. In less than a week, he had broken me. I was convinced that I was truly worthless. That nobody was left in the world who loved me, nobody left to rescue me. I could deal with the pain- and what they did to me. I learned to deal with that for a month. Amir, though, used everything I ever loved against me." Ziva was surprised to hear a whisper from Abby. "Ziva… how did you… recover…so fast?" "Abby, I had resigned myself to death. I had no hope of being rescued. Seeing Tony and McGee made me realize that there were people who loved me, and Amir had not gotten to them at all," she said. "Tony's alive? And Gibbs?" Abby asked, her voice getting stronger. "Of course, Abby. They're fine." "How is… McGee?" "McGee is fine as well, he is being released today. He came to see you this morning," Ziva replied. Abby's face crumpled. "I know!" she cried. "I wanted to see him but I turned to look at him and all I saw was Amir! That's all I see in men now- HIS face! I couldn't help it." Ziva remembered, she knew. She took the Goth's hand and cried with her.

…

The whole team was surprised when Ziva came out and said that Abby asked for McGee. Gibbs nodded his approval, and McGee walked slowly with Ziva into the room. Ziva then came back a moment later and brought Gibbs, then came back out for Tony. Abby was doing fine- she was groggy from all the medicines, sore from everything, and confused as hell, but happier than she had been in days. The puzzle pieces of the team clicked together in that hospital room and everything felt right- for a moment. Time progressed, as it tends to do, and the thought of Amir Rivkin settled back into all of their minds, turning the happy atmosphere slightly sour. Gibbs decided to talk to Abby later- give her a rest. Instead, he decided that as soon as the team was back at NCIS, he would interview Ziva. She was the only one who knew how this man thought and planned- whether she liked it or not.


	12. Chapter 12

**Not even bothering with excuses. It has been too long, and I'm sorry. So, here is yet another chapter that is not the end of this story. **

**~ Allie**

…**.**

Gibbs paced the cold floor of the interrogation room. He had paced this way a million times before, but this time was different. He wasn't trying to intimidate the only other occupant of the room- he simply was looking for the right words. He glanced at Ziva, who was staring through the mirror on the opposite wall. There was nobody in the observation room for once, and nobody watching through the security camera. No words had been said about the complete and total aloneness that they were privileged to. Vance had stepped back long ago. There were lines not to be crossed at NCIS, and as obtrusive as he could be, Vance knew his place.

….

Turning back to Ziva, Gibbs studied her as he wracked his mind for something- anything to say. It was easy to interrogate people- he even enjoyed it. But Ziva wasn't a suspect, she was a friend, as close to being his own daughter as Abby was. "Rule 10 exists for a reason," he thought, and almost smiled as he realized just how many of his rules had been broken throughout the case. His mind quickly returned to the issue at hand- talking to Ziva. He didn't know how to go about intruding on someone's deepest secrets. Looking at her face, though, he saw that the past days had broken all of her walls. She was too tired to be tired. For once, Ziva had no secrets. She just wanted to be done. Finishing this case would be the ultimate closure to her hellish experience in Somalia, and she was ready to do anything just to move on.

….

Ziva's voice broke the nearly unbearable silence, surprising Gibbs, who was still deep in thought. "It is a game." He turned with a puzzled look on his face, prompting her to explain. "This whole— The letter. He said that he would make the team go through what I did, one by one. We are all game pieces to him. My happiness here… he takes it as a challenge, I believe. In Somalia.. he does not believe I was sufficiently broken. My game is not over." Gibbs took the information in and let silence settle over them before further addressing the elephant in the room. "Zi, we need to know how this man works. That's going to help us know who he will target next and how we can catch him. That also means-" he paused before nearly whispering his next words. "-that I need to know everything you know about him. How he acted, how he treated different people, anything." "I know," Ziva said. Her walls may have crumbled, but that didn't make putting her horrific memories into words any easier. "He was… the first, the last… and the worst. He laughed when I screamed. I stopped screaming so I would not hear his laugh. That is where the scars on my arms came from," she said, pushing back a sleeve to show the crescent shaped marks that dotted her forearm. "My own fingernails." "Ziva, do you remember any other prisoners?" Gibbs asked softly. "Gibbs, I cannot forget. There were six other women besides myself. Just citizens who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, I believe. I was the only one who had any idea where I was," she said. "How did he treat them?" Gibbs pushed. "They… were first. I tried to help them, but it was difficult. They spoke a dialect of Arabic that I could not understand, and I was kept separately. I… think that once he had taken away everything he could from them, he was no longer entertained… and they were disposed of." A tear fell and drifted down her cheek. "He knew everything about me, but nothing of you. They had all of my Mossad information. He hated me… for never telling. He took away everything else I had, but I held onto you because you were all that I had left. He said things.. "It is sad that you do not tell me of your team. They'll never know what happened to you." Gibbs, I thought we had both lost his game. I was broken, and he was dead, but I suppose neither of us has lost yet." Tears were running freely down her face, yet she made no move to wipe them away. Gibbs kissed her head and moved towards the door. "Gibbs, what are we going to do now?" she asked, sounding close to desperation. "We're going to beat him at his own game, Zi." And with that, Gibbs was gone— down the hall and off to plan the next move in the game that seemed never ending.

….

Left to sort out what had happened, Ziva was surprised that she didn't seem to have anything to sort out. The guilt, dread, and terror had been replaced by relief. For the first time since her return from Somalia, Ziva David felt free. The horrid secrets that she had kept hidden for so long were gone. She had hidden them so deep inside herself and protected them fiercely to protect her team, she had told herself. It wasn't until now that she realized how tired of pretending she really was.


End file.
